Her eyes slowly opened, her surroundings looking the same as before, only her vision was blurred, going in and out of focus as she tried to understand and piece together the events that have taken place. Her hearing seemed muffled, as if every single sound she could hear was as if it had been hushed, only barely audiable. She heard voices, both of them familiar.
"Thank you for your assistence," one called to the other.
"Only following orders," the other familiar voice replied, this one sent a shiver down her spine.
She attepted to rise up, but a sudden sharp pain in her head forced her back down.
"Easy, child," the first called out again, taking a damp cloth to her brow that was prespired with sweat.
Her vision finally focused to normality, Wintergreen filling her view, but not seeing the owner of the other voice.
"You're lucky to be alive," Wintergreen stated with concern in his voice, not entirely happy with the fact that Slade would go to such a extreme, especially inflicting so much pain on a young woman.
She noticed that her right arm was in a sling, resting upon her chest. She didn't attempt to move it, knowing that Slade had somehow inflicted enough damage upon it to cause its current state. Her face continued to throb, she felt the bridge of her nose, feeling how tender and swollen it had become. It pained her to breath, slowly exhaling and inhaling, attempting to lessen the unwanted feeling. Raven looked down the collar of her jumpsuit, seeing around her ribcage was bandaging, an attempted solution to help her broken ribs heal.
"H-How long was I out?" she questioned weakly, knowing that she was knocked unconscious.
"Going on 3 days now, Raven," Wintergreen cooly informed, wiping his hands off on a towel.
She was suprised. 3 days? had it really been that long? Her body basically kept her unconcious to heal, but her wounds were extensive, so why now? Why wake up now?
The other figure finally stepped forward.
"You are to come with me immediately, child," 001 coldly stated, just like the machine that he was.
"Get the hell away from me," Raven growled, attempting to scurry away from the approaching robot.
"I mean you no harm, Raven," he said, holding out his hand, palm turned upright, "I am only here to help you."
Raven reluctantly took hold of 001's hand, gasping at how cold it felt as she laid her hand in his. She lifted up from the bed with the help of 001, her face wincing in pain as she did so. Wintergreen had already put her boots back upon her feet, so she just stood up, slowly, not wanting to irritate her wounds.
"Would you like me to carry you?" the robot questioned, using logic upon how serious her wounds were.
"Just make sure I don't fall," Raven replied hastily, wanting to walk on her own to prove that Slade has indeed, not broken her.
"Very well then," 001 agreed, beginning to walk beside her.
They made their way down the corridor, Raven walking a lot slower than usual, even having a slight limp to her pace. 001 said nothing, knowing that she was still in pain and she was reluctant to face him again. After what seemed ages, they finally entered the main room, which had been cleared and repaired from their "disagreement" from the other day. She hobbled up to the raised platform where he stood, as he continued to watch what appeared to be security footage of the compound.
"I have brought you the child, Master," 001 said with a bow, "shall I continue with my other assigned duties?"
"Yes you may, 001," Slade's hiss came forth.
001 nodded, turning around and leaving the room, only Raven and Slade were present, making the large room seem as if it were that much bigger.
"Now," Slade began, turning around, "you have had quite some time to think about it, so I assume you have had a change of heart, have you not?"
Silence was the only thing that could be heard from Raven as she stood there, looking at the floor.
"It is a simple question, Raven," Slade added in Raven's silence, walking down the steps once more, a near deja vu of what had transpired before.
Raven continued to look at the floor with her head hung low, not knowing what to do. Slade waited for a reply once more, walking up towards her in his usual manner, stopping with about 5 feet between the two of them.
"Answer me, child," Slade beckoned a third time, becoming irritated by Raven's silence.
Yet again, Raven said nothing, only continuing to do what she had been doing before.
"ANSWER ME!" Slade yelled, causing Raven to jump at his voice, her wounds sending a sharp recourse of pain through her body as she did so.
"I-I-I'll do it," she replied weakly after a moment, reluctant to bring the words forth from her mouth.
"Good, go-" Slade began, only to be interrupted.
"There will be a few exceptions to my alligence, Slade," she stated, attempting to raise her voice so he could hear her better.
"You are in no position to be making exceptions, Raven," Slade flatly stated, "but, out of pity, I will hear you out."
"First off," Raven began, "you will not treat me like property, I am a human being, so be treated as such. Second, you will treat me with decency and respect, and third, I will not fight my friends. If you can't meet these requests, you might as well kill me now."
Slade thought for a moment, intrigued by Raven's bravery, even after the malicious beating she had taken from him only days ago.
"In order for me to respect your first two requests, child," Slade finally said, "you will have to earn my trust, but they are negotiable. As for your third request, Raven, I will not have you outright combat your friends."
Raven let out a small sigh of relief.
"But, if we happen to run into them while you or both of us are on mission, I do expect you to defend yourself and fight, not sit by or run away."
For some reason, she knew that he was going to say something along the lines of that.
"When do I start?" she questioned, feeling the pains of forced betrayl beginning to set in.
A smile seemed to creep across Slade's masked face.
"As soon as your body is healed, we will begin your physical training," Slade started.
Raven looked up with a confused look about her face.
"What do you mean "physical training"?" she questioned.
"You see, Raven," Slade informed, "your mind and body are two completely different things in nature. You, child, have a very well-tuned mind, but your body is somewhat weak and fragile when compared to it. In order to use my training effectively, you must be of sound mind and body, so I must basically strengthen you with training, otherwise you will be of no use to me. You may not see the connection now, but you will when we begin the actual training, Raven, you will become nearly invincible with my help."
Raven's heart, though heavy with sadness, lightened up for a split second. The thought of more power intrigued her, anything that would help her in the long run, because, eventually, she knew that she would be far stronger than Slade on either front, combining her powers and his training into something that even he would fear.
"So what am I supposed to do until then?" she questioned, knowing that it would still be a short time before she was fully healed.
"You will have free time, child," Slade replied, "but you will remain in your private quarters at all times unless you are escorted by 001. I haven't a care if you would like to look around, seeing how you aren't going anywhere, and no amount of seaching will find you a way out. This," he motioned with his hands, "is your new home, you will be here for quite some time, so get used to it."
Raven didn't say another word, only turning around, beginning to walk back down the corridor. Slade motioned for 001 to escort her. Her amythest eyes swelled up with tears, some falling upon her cheek. Her heart lay broken, knowing the fact that she wouldn't be able to see anyone for a long time, not Robin, not Cyborg, not Starfire, and especially not Beast Boy. That is what pained her the most. Raven never revealed her true feelings for him, knowing that only repercussions would come from it from the others, but she thought about it, knowing that there was the possibility that she wouldn't see any of them ever again. She walked into her dimly lit room, the door sliding shut and locking behind her. Raven fell upon the bed, the pillow muffeling her sobs as she cried out, feeling alone, weak, and afraid, unable to save herself, knowing that she had been beaten, and was frightened by what laid ahead of her.
"I wish this all was just a nightmare," Raven thought, tears still strolling down her face, "I wish this all was just a nightmare, and Beast Boy, or anyone, would come and wake me, just to prove that it was just that, a dream."
Her eyes became heavy as her body demanded rest to heal. she laid her head upon her pillow, gently closing her eyes, hoping that all of this was a dream, a nightmare from the depths of Hell, only that, this wasn't a dream, but reality, and as Raven has found out, reality is very painful, emotinally and physically.
"So," Beast Boy spoke up at the breakfast table, "how did it go last night?"
"How'd what go?" Robin replied, setting the newspaper down.
"You know what I'm talking about," he informed, raising his eyebrows.
"Oh," Robin realized, figuring out what he was getting at, "it was fine, we both had a good time."
"And?" he pryed, knowing that something else must have happened, seeing how Robin was in an unusually good mood today.
"And what?" Robin said, avoiding the truth, "can't I just be happy for once?"
"Not like this," he informed, "I know something happened, you aren't a morning person, Robin, don't lie to me."
After a few moments of silence, and they were the only two up so far, he finally decided to tell him.
"Starfire and I," he began reluctantly, "well...we...umm...we...uhh...kissed."
"Kissed" was barely audible, but B.B.'s super-sensitve hearing caught it, show by his dropped jaw in amazement and disbelief.
"No way, dude," he doubted, shaking his head.
"I do not lie to you, Beast Boy," Robin informed, holding up his finger, "it was her idea, of course."
B.B. only smiled, playfully punching Robin in the arm.
"You stud, you," he said, laughing.
Robin picked up the paper again, smiling.
Both of them heard a door open down the hallway, coming from the direction of Robin's room, knowing that it must have been Cyborg, since their rooms are in one hall, the girls are in the other. His heavy footsteps could be heard coming down the corridor. Cyborg entered the main room, yawning as he saw the newly-risen sun.
"Mornin' fellas," he called out after his long yawn, shuffling to the breakfast table, ready to eat.
He sat down, seeing that Beast Boy had made breakfast again, consisting of tofu eggs and bacon, again.
"This is ridiculous," Cyborg said, poking at his eggs, "every time it is your turn to make breakfast, you fix this...this...crud."
He jerked the plate away from Cyborg.
"This is not crud, dude!" he protested, "this is better for you than any real food, plus it tastes good."
Robin lost himself in the paper, keeping his smile unseen by either of them, blocking their usual bickering out of his mind.
"Salutations of the morning, friends!" Starfire announced, her happy mood seemingly kicked into overdrive today.
The bickering stopped, Robin lowered his paper.
"So," Beast Boy began before anyone could say anything to her, "how was your date with Robin last night?"
Robin's eyes widened, knowing that she would tell him, tell him everything.
"It was most wonderous, friend Beast Boy," she stated, clasping her hands together, "we went to the restaraunt of eating, the showing of the movie, and the walk through the park of trees and shrubbery."
"Robin told me that you gu-" Robin managed to grab hold of his mouth, silencing him.
"I told him that we had a good time and you wouldn't mind going again," Robin informed with a forced smile, turning his attention to the silenced Beast Boy, "didn't I?"
B.B. nodded, Robin turning loose of his mouth. Starfire flew over the table with ease, resting down in her usual spot, scooting closer to Robin, nearly touching him. He looked up from his reading again, only to find a grand smile on her face. She looked down, seeing what was for breakfast.
"The eggs and bacon of tofu!" she exclaimed, grabbing the plate, and seemingly chugging the contents upon it with ease in a matter of seconds.
Astonished, the others looked on.
"Amazing," Beast Boy commented, "Cy, I think she just beat your record."
Cyborg looked up with a piece of bacon hanging out of his mouth, determination in his eyes.
"No way," he commented, loading up his plate again, "ain't no one beat my time, not her, not anyone, it's on."
Starfire only watched as Cyborg attempted to do what she did, only to have most of it end up on his face, and the horrid taste of tofu that he is accustomed to fill his stomach.
"I believe we have a winner," Beast Boy commented, watching Cyborg as he looked as if he was going to be sick.
After a good laugh out of everyone, except for Cyborg, who had already ran for the bathroom, their morning continued as usual.
"Robin," Starfire beckoned, after finishing her orange juice, "have you heard from Raven?"
Not paying attention to her, only to hear the name at the end hit him with suprise. Beast Boy too, turned his attention to Robin, hoping for an answer as to the whereabouts of Raven.
"Sorry," he informed, setting the paper down again, as if he were finished with it, "I haven't, she did say she would let us know when she was coming home, so there isn't anything to worry about."
Beast Boy set his fork down, preparing himself to say something.
"Robin," he started, "you can't sit there and tell me that you don't feel one bit worryful or concerned or even afraid when it comes to Raven, I don't know about you, but I worry about her all the time, she is our friend, who knows what would happen if she wasn't."
"You are right," Robin replied, "but if it appears as if I don't, then you are mistaken, I care for Raven and her safety more than you know."
Suprised, Beast Boy thought of something to say.
"I can't explain it though," Beast Boy continued, "I just have this feeling that she is out there somewhere and in danger, while we only sit here and wait for her return, I just feel hopeless at times when things start to look bad."
Robin had no idea on how much he cared for Raven, only thinking he cared for her as a friend.
"I know," Robin finally managed, "but if we let worry cloud our minds, we can't do our job, so we must, no matter how much it hurts, we must put the thought of her in the back of our minds, when the time comes, then we will begin to worry, which I really hope there isn't, but the world is full of suprises."
It hurt B.B. when Robin said that, but he knew, they all knew that it was the truth. Without another word, he excused himself from the table and walked down the hall. The hall belonged to the girls, he knew where he was going, but he hurried out of sight when Robin turned his attention back to Starfire, who seemed to be whispering something to him. He slowly walked up to Raven's door, reluctant to go in, due to the fact of how many times she has warned him to not do so. Even her violent threats didn't phase him, as he pushed the button next to the door, it wooshing open as all of theirs did in the same manner. He stepped forward into her room, smelling the air the floated throughtout the room, giving off a fragrance of inscense. The room was the same as she had left it, neat, clean, and trim, as if she had just moved in. The room's blinds had been drawn shut, causing the already dark shaded colors to appear that much darker in nature, giving off the sense of depression and fear in a way.
"No wonder she is always gloomy," he commented, stepping forward, the door shutting behind him. "She really needs to re-decorate this place."
He turned the light on, illuminating the dark scene, the colors still making the room seem depressing to the sight. B.B. wandered over to her grand bookcase that rest against the wall, only 3 books missing, the rest of the shelves were covered with many works of literature. Beast Boy looked up, noticing a envelope sitting on the very top of the bookcase, as if it had been placed there recently.
"What's this here?" he questioned out loud, standing on his tiptoes to reach it. He may have been nearly as tall as Raven, but that inch or less that she had on him seemed to matter at this point.
Beast Boy finally got a index finger and a thumb upon the envelope, pulling it down as he rested back on his feet. A smile crept across his face as he opened the envelope, seeing a picture.
"Ah, good times, good times," he commented with a laugh, sifting through them.
He sifted in the same manner, until he reached the picture that was close to the end. His smile dissapated, turning into a depressed frown. B.B. gently ran his hand across the picture, the picture of Terra.
"Terra," he said softly, his eyes beginning to water.
He quickly put the pictures back into the envelope before more painful memories of the past showed up in the collection of photographs. After wiping his eyes with his gloved hand, he cautiously moved about the room. He stopped at her vanity, a large, antique table made of mahogany with a large mirror sitting against the wall, held up by the vanity. He saw a hand mirror overturned, laying in the middle of the table.
"Oh no," he said to himself, "I ain't touching that thing again, last time I did, I got stuck in her head, and that was just a very wierd place all on its own."
He hesitated, still looking at the mirror, knowing what powers it possesed, but also knowing the concequences of doing so. B.B. finally managed to break eye contact with the mirror, avoiding the urge to pick it up and see what Raven's subconcious mind was up to, but that was invasion of privacy, and he didn't want to see the realization of the threat that she left with him from last time. He sat down gently on her bed, suprised as to how soft and comfortable it was. B.B. looked to his left, seeing a dark purple book with black edging, a lock keeping the covers bound together.
"What's this?" he stated quietly, picking it up, "I have a good idea as to what this is, but it isn't right, I shouldn't look."
He sat there, holding it in his hands, studying the cover of it. B.B. peered over his shoulder, seeing if anyone was near the doorway.
"A quick peek won't hurt anything," he commented to himself once more, attempting to undo the lock. He picked up a bobby pin that was sitting on the nightstand as well, seeing if he couldn't pick the lock.
After a few moments of careful movements, his ears picked up the faint sound of the lock clicking, knowing that he had undid it.
"Let's see what goes on in the mind of Raven," he stated adventureously, flipping through the pages. He found a page close to the beginning, noticing the date.
"April 4th, 2003," he stated aloud, seeing that that was well over 6, almost 7 years ago. He began to read it out loud, softly to where he could only hear it:
Dear Diary,
My new aquaintences are quite a different buch, I have only known them for a short while, but I could consider them friends, seeing how we are probably going to be working together for who knows how long. The leader, Robin I believe is his name, is indeed fit to lead us, he is strong, dominant, and not too strict, but he does have flaws, of from what I can tell anyways. He lets things get to him too easily, and he won't stop until he gets the job done, even if involves great risks. Another one of my new friends is Cyborg, being of part man and part machine, he posses incredible strength, power, and intelligence. His powers are also his weakness, seeing how he must recharge, and his machine parts limit his ablities, but his human side overides that, so he isn't completely weak in a certain field. Starfire, wow, she is very different, we fought her, then made friends with her, but she is in her own little world at times, but she helps keep spirits up around the Tower, so it is all in good faith. Lastly, Beast Boy, Azar, don't get me started on him, he is immature, crude, and unintelligent. He walks around the Tower, playing practical jokes on everyone and whatnot, and it gets really annoying after awhile. He acts the way he does to hide his true feelings and self, or I think he does anyways, but it will take some time before I really get to know everyone, so until then, I can only guess.
"I think she didn't like me at first," B.B. commented, flipping through the yellowed pages, looking for any date of interest, "but she is right, I do mask my true self."
He stopped after a couple of page turning motions, starting with the date:
May 23rd, 2005
Dear Diary,
I come to you with a saddened, heavy heart. I feel awful for what had nearly taken place today. I am only glad that I have such true friends as I do, otherwise, my bastard of a father would be ruling Earth, all because of me, all because of what I was destined to be. My friends, and I do mean that with a passion, I couldn't ask for better ones, saved me, changing what I was destined to be after all. They all fought valiantly against my father's army of minions from the depths of Hell itself, but Beast Boy, Beast Boy fought with such vigor and tenacity, even risking his own life many times throughout the struggle to save me, knowing that I was too good for my fate and shouldn't have to suffer so. In my opinion, I think is some way or another, he likes me, to an extent at least, but he is searching for the right moment or time to reveal to me something, something from his sould. I will have to admit as well, I have different feelings for him than I do the others, I can't explain them, but they are there, and I don't mind at all. It is as if these special feelings for Beast Boy help keep my mind at ease in a sense, bringing balance in a wierd way. I haven't a clue on how to explain these feelings to him, especially since he acts about half his age most of the time, so it is difficult for me to do so. I will find a way, some way, some how, some time.
"She does have a thing for me," he stated out loud in shock, maybe a little too loud. With a renewed interest, he scanned through towards the end, looking for her last dated entry.
"Let's see what she had to say the day she left." Beast Boy said in a hushed tone, holding the diary wide open to read.
August 17th, 2009
Dear Diary,
Things seem to be just the usual around the Tower, whether it be Robin basically doing homework on our enemies, Starfire tending to whatever it is that she does, Cyborg working on new gadgets and projects, most of which that originate in the garage, and Beast Boy, who I can hear singing along with his favorite band in his room. I really wish he would turn it down, but we can't always get what we want, can we? Anyways, even though things seem the same around here, something is different, very different. I happened to find an older book of mine titled "The Chronicles of Azarath", a detailed history of my homeworld and whatnot. But it wasn't what was within the pages, but what laid on the inside of the cover that touched me. It was a picture of mother and me when I was but a small child. Along with the picture was a letter that she had written for me on the day I departed from Azarath to come here, her words attempting to capture the amount of love and affection that she had for me on a piece of paper. Every single time I read it, no matter how many I times I do, I always shed tears of sadness. This time though, this time, I felt as if I needed to do something about it, since I was feeling homesick, the Prophecy had been stopped, and I wasn't carrying the burden of being the portal any longer, I thought of the possiblity of visiting her for a short time. I haven't any clue as to how long I would visit, maybe a month, or even more, but I would be sure to restore that bond we once shared as mother and daughter. I know the others won't like the idea of me leaving for an extened period of time, but with so much sadness in my heart, my powers are starting to become difficult to control, so it would be for my best intrest and their safety if I were to go. I will tell them, I must, but I fear the outcome, I don't know if they would even care the slightest, but I shouldn't think that way, I know the truth to my friendship with them, but it makes it that much harder to leave. The most imposing thing upon my mind right behind my homesickness is what am I going to tell Beast Boy, I mean, for what? nearly 6 years, I have had special feelings for him, but I have never revealed them, I must, it might also help with my troubles within my mind as well, seeing how I have a mental battle every single waking moment if I am to tell him or not, fearing the outcome or what his response would be. I will tell him when the time is right, I promise this with this mark I leave at the end of this entry, showing how much I care for him.
Beast Boy's eyes were watery once more, his dark, emerald eyes appearing brighter than ever. He ran his finger across the so said mark, a kiss by Raven on the page with her dark blue, nearly black lip gloss.
"She really does care," he managed, smiling, "I will definitley see to it that her feelings don't go unrewarded."
He shut the diary and put it back where it was located on the nightstand, locking the covers again to avoid being accused of looking at the diary. He exited her room, making sure no one saw him, locking the door as it was behind him.
The lights of the corridor kept it dimly lit, basking it in a darkened reddish-bronze color. Slade made his way down the corridor, his footsteps resounding off of the walls, 001 right behind him in trail.
"How was your meeting with Brother Blood, Master?" 001 questioned, holding an armful of books and a small box on top of it.
Slade slowed a bit, turning his head for 001 to hear him.
"He said that he would gladly take part and it would be his honor, 001," Slade informed, picking up the pace once more.
"So things are going according plan thus far, Master?" 001 asked again, reshifting his grasp on the items in his arms.
"So far," Slade began, "yes, but I am yet to begin my actual actions, it has been only persuasion thus far, but no matter, I have what I want and what I need, it is only a matter of time."
"These items are for your apprentice, yes?" 001 questioned once more, wanting to be briefed upon his current command.
"Yes," Slade cooly stated, as if he were glad to inform him, "I am bringing these as "gifts" or tokens of my appreciation for her cooperation, 001, I would like to show her that I am not completely heartless."
001 said nothing more, their pace continuing on as it did before. Slade came up upon the door to Raven's quarters, guarded by 006 and 007 on either side of the door, standing still like lifeless statues. The robots took a step away from the door in a latteral motion, allowing Slade and 001 to get closer, in order for him to knock. He raised his hand, gently tapping on the door a few times in sucession.
"Raven?" he beckoned, not knowing if she was awake or not, "I would like to have a word with you."
The door slid open a slight crack, her bloodshot, reddened eye from her tears was visible in the light.
"May I come in?" Slade attempted to ask in his most sincer voice that he possesed, not used to speaking in such a way.
The door slid open the rest of the way, her stepping out of their path, allowing them admittance into her quarters. She sat down upon her bed, still holding her head, her wounds appeared to be healed for the most part. 001 stood next to Slade, his arms still full of items.
"Child," began Slade, "as a token of gratitude or even appreciation towards your decision, I have brought you something."
001 leaned forward, setting the pile of books down, picking them up idvidually for Raven to see.
"These are from my personal library," he said proudly, "I thought you might be interested in reading these since they are of the same genre of the ones with your belongings that you had with you."
Raven studied the cover of each one, noticing that she hadn't heard of most of them, and they were of the same type and style that she was accustomed to. Her depressed look upon her face lessened a little, showing some sign of life within her.
"I also took notice to the herbal tea that you had with you as well," Slade stated, seeing how intent with the books she was, "so I also give you a machine to do so, with several different kinds, I didn't know which is your favorite, so you have some variety."She opened the box, noticing the machine was identical to the one she had at the Tower to make her tea every morning for the day's use. Slade seemed pleased with Raven's small, barely noticable reaction to this, but he knew that she would come around eventually, the sooner the better.
"I will leave you for now," Slade informed, pointing 001 out the door, "we will begin your training tomorrow."
He was nearly out the door, Raven snapped her head up from the books and the gift within the box, readying herself to say something. Slade stopped for a moment to hear what she wanted to say, but not in a noticable fashion.
"T-T-Thank y-you," she managed, weakly and in a confused manner.
"The pleasure is all mine, child," he replied, his back to her, "but be ready for tomorrow, It will be Hell upon you, I know it."
Stunned, but not afraid, Raven turned her attention away from him as he exited, looking back at her newly-aquired possesions. The door closed behind him as he exited, leaving Raven with her new belongings alone. She sat there, sifting through the pages of a book, then every now and then picking up a different one, and doing the same.
"I never took Slade as one to read such literature, if any," she commented out loud to herself, "these will at least help with my stay here, taking my mind off of my current situation at hand."
Raven picked up the stack of books and put them on her dresser, leaving the one that she wanted to begin reading on top so she could just grab it whenever she felt like reading. The box, on the other hand, she sat on the other end of the dresser.
"Still, something bothers me though," thought Raven, "that is the first time I have ever seen or heard him show any attempt of compassion towards another living thing, not to say that it isn't a change for the better, but I think there is a side of him that no one has ever seen. Maybe, just maybe, if I can show what he gives in return, I might be able to see what he is really like. I feel so bad for saying such a thing, but it must be done in order for me to have any chance of getting out of here alive, no matter how much I am against it."
She kicked her boots off and began unzipping her jumpsuit, headed for the bathroom.
"A nice shower and a good night's sleep will do me quite well," she commented as she continued walking towards the bathroom.
Slade continued walking back to the main room, 001 in tail.
"Do you think your apprentice will be appreciative of you now, Master?" 001 questioned, not accustomed to human interaction for the most part.
"She will come around, 001," Slade replied, "in the meantime, you and your brothers will be helping me keep her in line, I know that once she learns what I have to teach her, she will use it against me. I know she doesn't want to be here, so she will find a way to escape as soon as possible, so you, along with the others, will see to that she doesn't. I paid Professor Chang good money for you, and I am pleased with your work thus far."
001 nodded as the continued to walk, exiting the corridor. Slade made his way up to his control panel, looking at the screens, seeing what was going on in Jump City.
"Now," Slade said out loud to himself, "let's see what my favorite group of heros are up to in the absence of Raven."
He keyed in a few strokes across his panel, changing the main monitor to a view of the main room in the Tower.
"The one called Cyborg really needs to update his security parameters," Slade commented, realizing how easy it was to hack into the Tower's surveallince system.
The view was of the main room, looking towards the large window that contained the view across the bay. Robin sat on the semi-circle couch, watching television, changing the channel every now and then. Starfire drifted into view, sitting down next to Robin, moving closer to him as she sat down.
"Well, well, well," Slade commented, noticing the behavior between the two of them, "seems as if you have been quite busy in my absence, Robin" he added, pertaining to Robin's newly made relationship with Starfire.
Beast Boy jumped on screen as well, turning to something out of view, making a face. He ducked, a mass of clothing barely missing him, and hitting Starfire in the head. Starfire turned towards the off camera person, picking up the clothing, and launching it as hard as she could. Beast Boy dropped to the ground laughing, pointing at Cyborg, who just appeared on screen, covered in clothes. Robin chuckled as well, still watching television.
"This will make my persuasion that much easier," Slade commented, saving the feed for later showing, "when Raven sees how much she is missed, or nearly forgotten, I should say, she will be that much more willing to join me."
Meanwhile, Raven stood in her shower, letting the water run down her injured body. She stood there, thinking, thinking about what was going to happen to her, what was going to happen to her friends, and what was going to happen to the city because of all of this.
"There must be something I can do," Raven commented to herself, trying to grasp what was happening at hand, "I can't escape, even if I did, it would be too late. Besides in here, he has eyes on my all the time, my powers are out of sync due to the lack of meditation and the emotional rollercoaster I have been on for the past week. It seems like I have been defeated before it began."
Something crossed her mind at that split second though.
"There is one way..." she said reluctantly, "but it is in the worse way possible, and it wouldn't be fair to the others, but a sacrifice of myself in order to prevent the degree of destruction he has planned seems like the only way, but I will not stoop to that level, not yet. I must explore all other possible solutions first."
Raven continued to brood within her own mind, wanting all of this to stop, but it wouldn't, and she knew, she knew the worst was yet to come. She knew it was far from over.
The sun was just on the western horizon, beginning the end of yet another late fall day, the temperature hadn't dropped yet, so it still felt as if it were summer, but the leaves were changing to their autumn colors of brown, yellow, and red. Hints of summer remained, but it was most definite that Autumn was on the brink of becoming a reality, as it did every year. The Titans all sat in the central room of their Tower, each doing something different. Robin was rummaging throug old files and miscellaneous pieces of evidence in a cardboard box, Starfire sat next to him, extremely interested in what he was doing, nearing the brink of pesterment. Cyborg was leaned back on the edge of the sofa, watching whatever Beast Boy was on the large television, flipping through the channels.
"Ain't nothing good on anymore," he commented, bored to death, but still going through the channels.
"Could you just find something, you're driving me insane, every time I get remotely interested in a show, you change the channel," groaned Cyborg, just as bored as B.B. was.
"Calm down, tin man," he replied, knowing that it would get Cyborg started, hopefully turning into something fun anyways.
Cyborg's attention snapped to Beast Boy.
"What did you call me, grass stain?" Cyborg replied back in the same manner, knowing B.B. was just joking around.
"Tin man," he replied with emphasis, "don't make me have to kick your butt, you'll have to buff it out."
"Come here, you-" Cyborg started, lunging for B.B.
He tackled him over the back of the couch, getting him in a headlock. Robin and Starfire attempted to ignore their childish wrestling, knowing that they were just trying to have fun. After having his seat kicked several times, Robin slowly turned around to find Cyborg on top of B.B, holding him down.
"Take it into another room," he stated coldly, acting as an authorative figure for once.
"Come on, Ro-" Cyborg started, only to be interrupted.
"I said take it into another room," Robin said again, "that, or knock it off."
B.B. managed to wiggle free of Cyborg's crushing weight. He made a face, then he turned and ran towards the elevator.
"Can't catch me, Cy," he called out, running for the door.
"Wanna bet?" he questioned, running after B.B., his heavy footsteps echoing off of the room's walls.
Silence graced the room once more. Starfire looked over her shoulder, making sure that they were actually gone.
"Robin," she began in her usual pleading voice, "I wa-"
"No, Star," he replied, not looking up from his report he was reading, "I haven't heard from Raven, please stop asking, you aren't making it any easier when you do."
Her face showed guilt.
"I'm sorry, Robin," Starfire informed, her spirit sinking.
He turned his attention away from his paper, looking at her saddened visage. Robin put his gloved hand underneath her chin in a gentle manner, lifting her head back up to eye level with his.
"You don't need to be sorry, Star," Robin informed in his rarely-used sympathetic voice, "I know how you feel."
She gently took hold of his hand, grasping it in hers.
"I know you are correct, Robin," she admitted, "but with her absense, it almost seems as if our home is empty."
"It is," Robin replied, moving closer to Starfire, "if any of us were gone, it would feel the same, but remember, that no matter what, we will always be here, awaiting whoever it is that has left, whether it be you, me, or any of the others. Starfire, that just proves how close of friends we all are, and in our case, how close we are."
Starfire only smiled, leaning forward. Robin recieved a sensual kiss from her. They released from their kiss, which seemed to last hours, which in fact, only lasted a few seconds. Robin knew that they had something special, and he also knew that Starfire was actually understanding the concept, allowing him to avoid spending countless amounts of time explaining the subject to her.
